The Sewol ferry disaster
An overloaded ferry capsizes off Jindo island, killing 304 people, most of them high-school students on a school trip.
- Sewol ferry disaster — Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Sewol, an illegally modified and overloaded ferry, sank on its way to Jeju. Of 476 people aboard, 304 died, about 250 of them students from Danwon High School in Ansan. Passengers were told over the loudspeaker to stay in their cabins while the captain and crew abandoned ship; the coast guard’s rescue was slow and confused. The captain was later sentenced to life in prison for murder by wilful negligence. For many Koreans the image of obedient children waiting for help that never came captured what was wrong with the country’s hurried modernisation.
- Sewol ferry disaster — Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Why it matters today
Sewol became a symbol of a society that put profit and obedience before safety. Yellow ribbons remain a sign of mourning and of demands for accountability, and anger over the government's response fed the protests that brought down President Park Geun-hye.